Sins of the father
by EyesoftheBeholder
Summary: As he stares at the lifeless body of the Fall Maiden at Beacon, his life will never ever be the same again. AU/OC
1. Prologue

**I do not own RWBY. Property belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions LLC.**

 **A/N:** **Still reeling on the season finale from RWBY and the only way to heal my wounds is to write it off (Literally!)**

 **Edit (10/17/2016): chapter is revised for grammar and consistency**

The moonlight reflects off the swampy waters in Mistral like a blurry mirror, as fireflies light the landscape one bug at a time. The sound of crickets and croaking frogs puts a damper on the silence in the swamp. A frog rises out of the water and immediately spots a fly for its meal. The frog targets the lone insect, its tongue ready to grab it, but a 10-year-old boy grabs the amphibian out of the water and it misses its opportunity for a meal.

The boy jovially laughs as he spins around with the frog like a prize catch. He then stares into the murky water and sees his reflection. Going down on his knees, he drops his smile and observes himself with a neutral expression. The boy's face is small and frail, with oval, cobalt eyes and a short and stout nose. His stature is also small and his physique leaned toward the skinny side. His medium-length wavy hair reflects a grey hue under the moonlight and as a breeze tousles the ends, tickling his cheeks, he immediately smiles at his own reflection. He gently drops the frog back into the swamp, and it swims for its life as it drifts further away from the rapscallion.

He lies down on the grass, gazing at the stars and smiles. _Oh boy I can't wait for her to come home,_ He thought happily.

He lifts his arms above his head and lets his head rest on his hands. Closing his eyes and he sighs deeply in content, when suddenly he hears a rustle coming right next to him.

"Amber, is that you?!" The young boy exclaims, but all he heard was a small titter. He moves towards the shrubbery painstakingly. For all he could know it could be Grimm. Or a chipmunk. Maybe even Amber! After all, she is going to meet him in the swamps at this hour. The rustling from the bushes becomes erratic as he moves towards it. As he is inches from the bushes, a figure stands up suddenly from out of them:

"Boo!" The boo causes him to scream loudly as he falls back, causing him to land on his rear end with a loud thud. The figure that appeared before him was a young girl with a tan complexion and brown hair that is tied conservatively behind her back. Her eyes are also brown and round, sharing tones similar to the earth. She is the same height as the scrappy young boy. She smiles then suddenly opens her mouth in surprise as she sees the boy on the ground groaning like there's no tomorrow. "I'm sorry, Cobalt!" The girl said with a remorseful tone, "I didn't know you would freak out like that."

Cobalt dusts his rear end as he stands up and smiles. The girl smiles and her face makes the young boy feel mesmerized. He blushes out of embarrassment and smiles nervously. He stutters uncontrollably, trying to speak, but it's as if he is taken over by whatever aura young Amber is projecting. She slowly stands up and reaches for the young lad.

His skin crawls as her hand slowly creeps toward him. His eagerness and curiosity turn to fear and dread and his smile turns upside down. He knows what is going to happen next. Then contact! Her hand touches his chest and the cold touch from Amber paralyzes him. It's as though he is frozen from the inside out from her touch.

"Tag, you're it!" Amber yells at him. She runs away to avoid being "it." Startled It takes him a moment to recover before he begins to chase her past the marshes toward the village.

Upon entering he stops at a nearby bakery in the marketplace. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, kneeling on one knee he touches the ground with his right hand. The clamor around the bakery becomes non-existent as he is absorbed in a muted version of the world. His heartbeat softens as he hones in on his target. Out of the darkness he senses a red pulsing aura running around the marketplace. _I got you now_ , He thinks confidently. He opens his eyes as the red aura pulsates to mark his target. He runs inside the bakery, dodging and weaving past the racks of freshly baked goods to avoid any damage, but he grabs a small sweet roll off one of the racks and swallows it on one gulp.

He spots an open window and leaps out of the bakery. The red aura fades as he sees Amber near him.

"I got you now, Amber!" He says confidently, "I got-" Then a gust of wind knocks over a crate of produce right next to her pursuer. Sliding under the boxes he avoids disaster. Amber is using the wind as her Semblance to go further away from him! "Hey that's not fair!" He complained.

"Says the person who tried to track me." Amber rebuts. _She got me beat there,_ He thinks cautiously. The narrow streets of the village become broader as their game continues, and soon they're headed towards a lone mansion. The cobblestone roads become dirt roads as the chase begins to wind down, but the determined young boy doesn't give up. Spotting a nearby light post, he leaps on it and launches himself by pushing against it with both his legs. He jettisons closer to Amber and tries to touch her. He is so close to tagging Amber.

He lunges at his target, reaching his arm out to tag her, his goal is just inches away. But he passes her. He calculated incorrectly and utters: "Oh no..."

He crashes onto a nearby chicken coop; chickens fly out of the coop as a result of the collision. Covered in egg yolks and egg shells he sighs in discontent. Amber stops in front of her battered pursuer. She giggles and smiles. She knows he lost that game of tag hard. He smiles back in embarrassment, knowing all his hard work was all for naught. She reaches her arm out and he grabs it to pick himself up.

"That's an A for effort, Cobalt." Amber said, "But you didn't tag me in the end."

"Yeah...but I'll get you next..." Cobalt is interrupted when an old man gasps in horror at the damaged chicken coop.

"Hey! You'll pay for all of...oh..." The old man looks at the yolk covered boy. His anger turns into concern. "Young Cobalt?" The young boy brushes off the hay on his shoulders. "Please be more careful out there when you're playing, young sir." The boy nods in response. He didn't realize that he was near his parents' home.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Finch. I'll be in my quarters right away." He says with guilt as they depart for home. The old man nods, and as they leave he starts cleaning the coop, grumbling in discontent.

After a quick bath, both Amber and Cobalt go up on the clay roof of the house. Amber sits by the edge of the roof while he lies down, rocking back and forth like a see saw, Amber watches the young boy deep in thought. She can tell that his gaze into the stars is different than what he usually does. This time he must be really thinking about something. After a moment he rises and smiles at her.

"Do you ever think about becoming a huntress?" The boy asks quizzically.

"That's a silly question to ask," Amber replies, "of course I want to be a huntress! Why are you asking?"

"Just wondering." He said.

"You know what would be even cooler?" Amber asks. He nods in agreement. "Being a Maiden. Grandma would always tell the story of the four maidens. Spring is too upbeat. Summer is too cheerful. Winter is too…well…dead. Fall is just right!" She says excitedly, but the cheerful moment is gone too soon as Cobalt suddenly falls to his knees and coughs harshly. "Are you okay, Cobalt?!" She stares at the young boy who is hyperventilating and still coughing violently.

As his fit continues his cobalt eyes slowly become red and his grey hair turns black. His skin turns pale, like ash from a fireplace, and suddenly a small metal object protrudes out of his forearms. Amber gasps in horror and jumps off of the roof and lands skillfully on the ground. She screams in terror as she sees her friend turn into a monster. She runs inside the house and sees Cobalt's mustachioed father and her father in the den.

"Mr. Coronas! Cobalt is sick!" Amber yells in fright. Tears run down her face because of what she saw. She describes the red eyes and black hair and, most especially, she tells them of the metal objects on his forearm. Dread builds at her words and Cobalt's father puts his hand on his mouth before he runs out of the house. The other two follow shortly after, seeing Mr. Coronas as he swiftly leaps on top of the roof.

Mr. Coronas sees his son coughing violently and lifts him up in his arms. Cobalt's eyes become normal as he softly utters: "Papa…"

"Yes, Cobalt?" His father asks quickly. Then his eyes turn red once again and the metal objects become blades. The blades go through his father's torso like a hot knife through butter. Red spots appear through his father's shirt. He then pushes him off the roof and lands on top of his father with a loud thud.

Amber's father immediately embraces her in a protective manner. Shocked and terrified, they slowly move back as the possessed boy begins to advance slowly towards them. However, something stirs within the boy and causes him to pause. Taking a glance towards the motionless form on the ground, Cobalt's eyes become normal as he registers his father's lifeless body on the ground, and the blades on his forearms starts withdraw back to his body.

He moves to his father's side and shakes him to see if he is still alive. His hands become green from his Aura as his father's stab wounds begins to heal. "Please Papa. Don't die on me. Please!" The young boy starts shaking his father's body more urgently, but he's still not breathing.

Amber's father tries to pull him away, from his father. but he flails madly as he tries to break free from his clutches. He stomps on the man's foot, causing his grip to loosen, and rushes back to his father.

Down on his knees, he sobs uncontrollably. Cobalt feels lost and helpless, unaware of the actions he has done to result in his father's condition. He starts to heal him once more, and after a long moment Cobalt feels his father's chest rise after healing him. The open wounds fill up with new muscle, bone and skin and he sighs in relief.

Amber starts to approach him, but her father stops her by blocking her path. "Is there anything we can do?" Amber asks.

"I don't know. But-"

"There must be something, dad!" Amber interrupts him. He sighs in defeat, knowing that what his daughter says is true. Something must be done.

He slowly approaches young Cobalt who is deeply shocked of what just happened. "Cobalt?" He asks cautiously. The boy turns around quickly, face filled with tears and despair. The man's frown turns into a smile. "Let's bring your father to the house and let him sleep it off okay?" The boy nods in agreement. Amber then quickly reaches her arm out and Cobalt grabs it to pick himself up. Her father carries the boy's father back to the house as Amber and Cobalt follows suit.

Cobalt lost his joy since his incident. Fearing that his father's life would be in danger, he moves away from his parent's home to Amber's home years later. But that didn't make things any easier for the lad. Amber is still there to take care of him, but all he could do is stare. No smile. No laughter. Just a blank stare. Every time they eat dinner together with Amber's mother and father, Cobalt just twirls his fork and spoon. While her family laughs about how their day was going, Cobalt sits and waits for the shenanigans to end. His smile is erased replacing it with a line on his lip. He sighs and leaves the table to head to his quarters. He closes the door softly and lies on his bed. He still can't get over the fact that his father was almost killed. Whatever is inside him caused all of this.

One night, in his teenage years, his anger and frustration manifests itself and suddenly he turns to that monstrosity from his youth. His eyes turns red and his skin turns grey. His hair turns black and the blades slowly protrude from his arms. He yells savagely as if he becomes beastly.

Amber is the first one to hear the yell and darts from her room to Cobalt's. She sees him in his ghastly form and is in horror as she sees her friend turn again. Instead of using her Semblance to take him down, she rushed to embrace him. She locks Cobalt's arms as she embraces him. She takes the risk of killing herself to save him. She whispers in his ear words of support and comfort. Cobalt flails madly trying to release Amber from this embrace.

"Everything will be okay. It's not your fault. No one blames you for your father's injuries." Her voice made the boy stop screaming. Then he sniffles and slowly sobs as they both go down on their knees. He slowly turns back to his human form as his eyes turn to its cobalt hue, his hair grey, and the blades withdraw back to his skin.

"I don't want to be like this." Cobalt said morosely. "I want to just...end it all! No hurt, no fear. Just silence!"

"No. I don't want you to die." Amber said. "You need help. And Beacon Academy will do that."

"What will Beacon do?" Cobalt asked cautiously. "I'm not even sure if I'm combat ready."

"I don't know. But you're more than combat ready. Our parents are hunters, you know?" Amber said confidently, "Why do you think that we play tag all the time when our dad's talk the night away? For fun? Well yeah, but they are training us to be Hunters."

Cobalt considers her words. He knows that other than suicide her idea might just work, with the right amount of risk. "If it helps me from turning into that monstrosity I might as well give it a shot." Cobalt says as he wipes away his tears. She smiles knowing she saved him from certain doom.

It is from this moment, with this decision, that Cobalt's life would change forever.

 **A/N: Reviews are greatly appreciated! Chapter 2 is on the way.**


	2. Coming Undone

**A/N: I was on hiatus writing this. But here is chapter 2. Enjoy!**

 **10/19/2016: Chapter edited for grammar and consistency.**

The halls of Beacon Academy echo with a stillness that only occurs late at night. The once bustling halls are dimly lit, as students and teachers are gone for the day. All but one.

Professor Ozpin works in his office typing on his large scroll. Beeps rapidly sound as he types notes on a prototype that is hidden from the public eye. All but himself and a select few are aware of this secret project.

A rush of wind moves the thick curtain in his office. Ozpin stops typing and scans the room. He spots an irregularity on one of his bookshelves. The books became concave instead of a flat image.

"You can come out, Cobalt. There is no one in the office." Ozpin said calmly.

A beep streaks through the quiet office and part of the book shelf that was camouflaged changes into a silhouette of a man. His powered suit of armor replaces the surrounding bookcase. Servos whir as he crosses his arms. His armor is sharp, colored black as the night sky, with lines and squares forming an illusion of blades throughout his armor. His armor is full of claw marks and bite marks from years of combat. His helmet is painted with the design of an Ursa head.

Steam escapes underneath his helmet as he removes it. He sighs in relief as he takes a deep breath and exhales. He cradles his helmet on his right waist, and as he moves towards Ozpin's desk servos whir with every step.

Now in his mid-twenties, Cobalt is far from youthful since his incident in Mistral. His face is starting to wrinkle from years of working as a Hunter and taking part of Ozpin's Grimm reconnaissance team. He is the eyes and ears of all Grimm activity, apart from Qrow Branwen's intel. The only things that remained the same from his youth are his cobalt eyes and his grey hair, still flowing and long. He cracks a smile as Ozpin continues to type on his computer.

"What brings you here on such a late night?" Ozpin asks. Cobalt scoffs.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. I saw your light was on from your office and I just wanted to stop by and say..."

"Why are you really here Cobalt?" Ozpin interrupts.

"Fine." He hands a flash drive to the annoyed headmaster. Ozpin places the flash drive on his computer and videos start to fill his screen. Videos of numerous Grimm taking over various villages. One video shows an Ursa attacking a villager ruthlessly in Mistral. While another video shows a Nevermore as it lifts a young girl away from her parents in an undisclosed location. Cobalt slams his hands on the desk with ferocity.

"That's why I'm here, Ozpin." Cobalt said furiously, "The Grimm are becoming relentless as we sit around doing absolutely nothing. Innocents are dying at the hands of these beasts. Whatever you're doing it's not working." His eyes start turning red as he breathes heavily. _Breathe in, breathe out,_ Cobalt thinks repeatedly. Then with a last sigh his red eyes turn back to its cobalt hue. He turns around and walks away from the desk. "Look, either we find something to save Beacon or let these menaces overrun us..."

"Do you know what project I'm working on right now?" Ozpin interrupts.

"Look there are more important things than..."

"Hear me out Cobalt and let me finish." Ozpin interrupts again. He reluctantly sighs as Ozpin starts talking. "This prototype is for a life support system that can stabilize a person's semblance without any dust." Cobalt slowly turns around and looks at him.

"What are you trying to imply here?" Cobalt asks cautiously. Ozpin's smile turns to a frown as he takes out his scroll and opens a photo to show the current Fall Maiden named Amber. Cobalt's face changed from frustration to concern as Ozpin swipes his screen to show numerous pictures of her. Her joy is non-existent in those pictures. Her glee is replaced with somber neutrality. Her once youthful face splattered with an unknown black substance. Cobalt turns away from disgust from the pictures as Ozpin stops flipping through his scroll.

"Do you know her?"

"I...I...she was family to me. Why are you showing this?" Cobalt asks nervously. Ozpin gets off his seat as he locks his scroll. Cobalt goes down on his knees, tears slowly falling from his face. "Don't tell me she's..."

"She's in a coma. Someone attacked her in broad daylight." Ozpin said. Cobalt looks up at the headmaster.

"Who would do such a crazy thing? Who would have the audacity to take down a Maiden like that?" Cobalt asks bitterly.

"Rest assured we will find the ones responsible for..."

"Where is she now?" Cobalt stops Ozpin. He didn't care about who attacked Amber. All he wanted to hear is to see if Amber is even alive.

"Somewhere safe."

"No. That doesn't cut it, Oz." Cobalt isn't buying the idea of his version of 'safe'. "Just tell me where she is. Plain and simple."

Ozpin sighs, as he doesn't want to see him be in any more pain and misery. He walks toward the exit as Cobalt follows him. He places his helmet back on his head as they leave the office. As they head for the elevator, Cobalt presses a button on his gauntlet to turn himself invisible. It's as though Ozpin is walking towards the elevator by himself. As the elevator doors open a person is in already there. Qrow Branwen.

"You can tell that there's someone right next to you, Oz." Qrow said in a brash tone.

Cobalt smiles underneath his helmet. He turns off his active camouflage as they enter the elevator. The elevator doors slowly close as it starts to descend deep underground. The silence is deafening as no exchanges are made on the elevator between the three men. Qrow suddenly breaks the silence.

"Is he going to be okay?" Qrow whispers on Ozpin's ear.

"He's still processing what's happening to Amber. His helmet is probably muting our conversation right now. He tends to be isolative when he's under stress." Ozpin replies. And he was right. Cobalt's helmet is muted as he didn't hear the conversation.

Cobalt on the other hand is still processing what is going on. He still has to work on his intelligence gathering with the Grimm activity in Remnant. But on the back of his mind his concern for Amber is still present. _What if she's really dead when I get there?_ Cobalt thought. _What if it's just a plan for Ozpin to cover up whatever he's trying to do?_ Then he remembered the one thing Amber always said to him that always made a big impact on his life.

"You can do it!"

 **A/N: Chapter 3 is on the way. Comments and reviews are welcome.**


	3. I Need My Girl

A/N: Here's Chapter 3! Enjoy reading.

EDIT: 10/29/2016 Chapter edited for consistency

Beacon Academy

Ten years before Amber's coma

"You can do it Cobalt!" Amber yelled proudly. Up above the roof of his dormitory, Cobalt wore his prototype power armor for the very first time. He was extremely nervous, and the clouds didn't help to settle his nerves since it seemed like it might rain and ruin the experiment.

Cobalt, before he became a hunter, was just a lowly student at Beacon Academy. A senior who wasn't sure where he wanted to be once he graduated. He now sported thick glasses, had shorter hair, and wore braces. Due to this appearance he wasn't exactly known as the popular type.

He was the type of student who would be in the back of the classroom, quiet and alone, until the teacher asked him a question during class. He would know the answer, of course, but often his "good kid" behavior would upset the status quo of his peers. He soon became the type of student who would be a constant target for bullies. The one who would be stuffed in a locker by the stronger more capable hunters-to-be. The type of guy who always got tagged by 'kick me' signs and getting swirlys in the restroom. However, there was one student who cared for the bumbling Cobalt.

Amber had been at Cobalt's side since day one, ever since they were admitted to Beacon Academy. After the incident in the Coronas household, Amber's family had stood by him since then. While his father was disabled, Amber's father took him in as their own. Amber had loved him like a brother. Then again, unlike Cobalt, she was a part of the popular crowd, with the hip young trendy kids who were the royalty of Beacon Academy.

Amber didn't care about her status in the school when she took care of him. Whenever the bullies stuffed him the locker, she was there to open the door; where he fell instantly. When he got tagged with a kick me sign she would remove it quickly. When he got swirlied she was there to dry him up. Her fellow peers avoided her like the plague, since she continued to stay by him, but that didn't stop her from loving him.

In response, he wasn't sure about this type of affection, but only Amber could understand and be level with him. He only found comfort in seeing her. When he proposed to make his powered armor suit she was with him every step of the way. He believed that this would be the new way of hunting Grimm, as it's a more protected form of hunting. Whatever his motives were, Amber saw his sincerity and went along for the ride.

They both scrounged the salvage yards outside Beacon to find bits and pieces of scrap metal to create the armor. They made the armor from helmet to boot in an efficient manner. They found spare parts to create the electrical system that runs the armor. They even snuck in the science labs in Beacon Academy to take some dust that powered the electrical system of the suit.

The armor was crude and plain, with a thick layer of rust that permeated his breastplate. A belt of orange erosion wrapped around his greaves and boots. The armor is, after all, a prototype. He can make those designs he dreamed of once the armor was a success. The rockets, which provided him transport, were fueled by Dust and hidden underneath the back of his chest piece. A button hidden inside his right greave opened the rocket packs.

His helmet was a round dome with no intricate designs. In contrast, the helmet was the nerve center of the armor. The heads up display showed his surroundings and scanned what the possible trajectory of his flight path would be.

Weeks of planning, building, and a series of explosions, they were ready to test drive their new creation. The first test? The propulsion system to fly the armor. How do they test it? By dropping down a ten story balcony to see if it works! But who will be the brave sucker...soul...to do it? Certainly not Amber. She was just there for moral support. Not as a test dummy. So it was up to Cobalt to see if their work was not in vain.

He put his helmet on and the heads up display activated, and navy lights flashed across his face. The night sky was the first to appear once his helmet became operational. The crisp night sky calmed the nervous boy down. Clouds thinly covered the moon as the rest of the sky was still clear.

"You can do it Cobalt!" Amber yelled loudly once again. "I hope." She mumbled under her breath.

The boy looked down at her, just a distant figure on the ground below. He gulped nervously, his small bit of confidence quickly fading as his vision began to swim. "I…can't…" Cobalt said before he ran back to the door. However, before he could get close, he found Qrow Branwen blocking his only way to freedom. His fellow senior became the bane of Cobalt's existence upon entering Beacon. He was the one who would stuff him in the locker. The one who would put the kick me signs on his back. The one who would give him his daily swirly.

"Where do you think you're going Colbee?" He asked nonchalantly. Cobalt moved back as his adversary slowly moved toward him. His arm blade popped out of his greaves as Qrow withdrew his sword from his sheathe.

"I don't want any trouble." Cobalt said nervously. "I'm just trying this new armor out." Cobalt started to sweat underneath his armor. Qrow lunged at the armored Cobalt. Sparks flew as his sword slash made contact, but it didn't cut through his armor. Cobalt paused in surprise that he was actually well protected, but Qrow kept advancing slowly and he was forced back toward the ledge. He had nowhere to run unless he jumped off and let the rockets do its work. He waved to the bully as a last cry for mercy. He was shaking his head as Qrow smiled wickedly.

"Looks like trouble just found you." He said arrogantly. He kicked the armored weakling, and Cobalt started to fall quickly from the roof. At ground level Amber was paralyzed by fear as she was helpless to do anything. All she could do was stand there…and watch.

Like a rag doll, Cobalt was at the mercy of gravity. He needed to quickly turn on his jets or else he will be road pizza in a heartbeat. A statistic in the Beacon Academy suicide list. He didn't want that to happen. Not at this moment at least. His right greave opened up to reveal a handle with a red button to ignite the rockets. His wings on the armor shot up immediately, but the rockets weren't engaging. He kept pressing the button but he only heard his engines sputter and immediately stall.

Ten stories. Nine stories. Eight stories. He kept pressing the button. Still no response from his rockets. Seven stories. Six stories. _Come on turn on why don't you,_ Cobalt thought anxiously. Five stories. Four stories. Three stories. He pressed the button and still the rockets were stubborn to turn on. Two stories. One story. Then silence.

 _Did I just die?_ Then he felt heat underneath him. _I'm not dead. I can't believe I'm not dead._ His rockets engaged just feet off the ground. Facing towards the sky, the hum of the rocket pack was music to his ears. Cobalt sighed and lets out a hardy guffaw as his experiment became reality. Amber was relieved and sighed loudly as she smiled, seeing her friend succeed once in his life. He leveled off and disengaged his thrusters causing him to land on his feet. The rockets withdrew to its original position as he removed his helmet. Amber rushed to him and embraced him tightly.

"I just want to say…" Cobalt stopped mid-sentence as she lunged her face towards him to kiss him. His tension of the night melted away as they made out. She leaned back and let out a huge sigh. They ended their make out session and both blushed and turned away. He snickered, and for the first time in a while he had a genuine smile. She smiled back and offered her hand. He held her hand as they left the dormitories. She raised her free hand as Qrow nodded and headed towards the door from the roof.

"Thank you." Cobalt continued.

"For what?" She replied she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Well you didn't let me finish. You kissed me after all." She giggled as Cobalt continued, "Thank for being there when no one else is around."

"It's the least I could do. At least I got to learn how to make an armored suit with you. But let's celebrate our victory by sleeping. How's that?"

"Yeah you're right." He said exhaustedly as he let out a huge yawn. He stretched his right arm and wrapped it around Amber. She leaned close as they started walking towards the school. Cobalt looked to the sky and noticed that the clouds had broken up and the moon appeared. "Oh man! The moon now shows up! It could've been nice to see the moon from up there."

"Cobalt!" Amber says as she gives him a playful shove.

"All right! All right!" Cobalt said amusingly.

A/N: Reviews and comments are welcome. Chapter 4 is on the way.


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